1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a vehicle wheel, and more particularly to a multi-piece wheel, which is assembled with multiple pieces of pre-made structural members, including an outer wheel ring, a central hub and multiple spokes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The following 13 patents and published patent applications are the closest prior art references which are related to the present invention.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,291 issued to Donald Pankhurst et al. and assigned to GKN Sankey Limited on Aug. 17, 1999 for “Wheels” (hereafter the “Pankhurst Patent”);
2. U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,168 issued to Garry Van Houten and assigned to Lacks Industries, Inc. on Feb. 11, 2003 for “Wheel Cover Having Interchangeable Turbine Pocket Inserts” (hereafter the “Van Houten Patent”);
3. U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2004/0070259 issued to Ya-Wen Chuang on Apr. 15, 2004 for “Vehicle Wheel Assembly” (hereafter the “Chuang Published Patent Application”);
4. U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,413 issued to Kevin Fitzgerald and assigned to KMC Wheel Company on Oct. 19, 2004 for “E.X.O. Rimwear” (hereafter the “'413 Fitzgerald Patent”);
5. U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2005/0073191 issued to Phillip O. Gerard on Apr. 7, 2005 for “Wheel Clad Assembly” (hereafter the “Gerard Published Patent Application”);
6. U.S. Pat. No. 6,921,138 issued to Larry C. Smyth on Jul. 26, 2005 for “Multi-Piece Vehicle Wheel Assembly” (hereafter the “Smyth Patent”);
7. U.S. Pat. No. 6,955,405 issued to Scott A. Hogan et al. and assigned to McKechnie Vehicle Components on Oct. 18, 2005 for “Inserts For Vehicle Wheel Assemblies” (hereafter the “Hogan Patent”);
8. U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2005/0242656 issued to Scott A. Hogan on Nov. 3, 2005 for “Plated Covers For Vehicle Wheel Assemblies” (hereafter the “Hogan Published Patent Application”);
9. U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2005/0269864 issued to Derek Tai Tong on Dec. 8, 2005 for “Wheel And Rim Bumper” (hereafter the “Tong Published Patent Application”);
10. U.S. Design Pat. No. D518,766 issued to Garry Burns on Apr. 11, 2006 for “Wheel Design” (hereafter the “Burns Design Patent”);
11. U.S. Design Pat. No. D520,436 issued to Marco Muzzarelli and assigned to Claus Ettensberger Corp. on May 9, 2006 for “Front Face Of A Vehicle Wheel” (hereafter the “Muzzarelli Design Patent”);
12. U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,915 issued to Kevin Fitzgerald and assigned to ZZYYXX Corp. on Jun. 6, 2006 for “Wheel With Interchangeable Cover Elements” (hereafter the “'915 Fitzgerald Patent”).
The Pankurst Patent is a design for a wheel to include a wheel disc which can be attached to the wheel. The innovation is that there is a tolerance in the attachment connection so that the disc can be attached in the field.
The Van Houten Patent includes the concept of a wheel cover assembly having an array of pocket inserts which are disposed within an array of turbine pockets of a wheel cover so that the inserts can be put in the turbine pockets.
The Chuang Published Patent Application has an apparent unique feature which is a protective cover on the outer portion of the wheel. The protective cover is shown in greater detail in FIG. 3. Specifically, this is a fairly conventional wheel design having essential hub 11, plurality of spokes 12 extending radially outward from the central hub 11 and a rim 13 having a front portion 15, a rear portion 16 and an intermediate recess portion 14. The inner wall 141 of the intermediate recess portion 14 of the rim 13 includes a plurality of spaced holes 142 in which a plurality of decorative bulbs 143 are inserted.
The '413 Fitzgerald Patent discloses an innovation for changing the appearance of the wheel. Specifically, the wheel has a multiplicity of spokes which can be in any orientation and has various openings to accommodate what is referred to as a decorative skin such as 54 shown in FIG. 3A and 102 shown in FIG. 7A which is mounted to the spokes so that the physical outward appearance of the wheel can be changed.
The Gerard Published Patent Application discloses a composite wheel that includes the wheel having an outer surface with a plurality of exposed apertures formed in a circular pattern in a central hub region of the wheel and centrally located aperture extending through the wheel. The composite wheel includes a wheel cladding which is the innovative feature of this invention having a body conforming to the outer surface of the wheel and exposed outer surface of an inner surface facing the wheel when the wheel cladding is attached to the wheel.
The Smyth Patent discloses a multi-piece wheel assembly. The innovation is the inside major surface of the rim having an inwardly extending annual shoulder and a plurality of circumferentially spaced rim bosses formed in the annual shoulder and adopted for engaging the outer margins of the wheel center. A plurality of circumferentially spaced fastener holes are formed along the outer margins of the wheel center and are adopted for aligning with the rim bosses formed in the rim.
The '405 Hogan Patent discloses a concept of inserts for a vehicle wheel assemblies. Essentially the concept, referring to FIG. 2, is to have a wheel 2 and a wheel cover 3 which is affixed to the outer surface of the wheel cover. The concern that this patent deals with is there are gaps between the wheel cover and the wheel and which the existence of the gaps is believed to be a problem. As a result, the problem is solved by including inserts 20 within these gaps.
The Hogan Published Patent Application deals with plated covers for vehicle wheel assemblies. It involves a method of fabricating decorative wheel covers which involves forming decorative wheel covers that have sharp edges such as edges along break vent windows or openings. The shape edges are dull by subjecting the wheel covers to a plating process that plates both sides of the wheel covers. The plating process rounds off or dulls the sharp edges of the wheel covers. The ability to dull the sharp edges of the wheel covers allows for the design and fabrication of metal wheel covers having profiles that push the limits on formability of metals such as stainless steel. Therefore, it is this plating process that is the innovation of this invention.
The Tong Published Patent Application is focused on the wheel and rim bumper which is an attachable accessory to a wheel for purposes of protecting the decoration of the wheel. It provides a bumper to protect the wheel so that the wheel will not be scratched during parking.
The Burns Patent is a design patent which protects the decorative appearance of the wheel.
The Muzzarelli Patent is also a design patent and again protects the decoration of the front face of a vehicle wheel.
The '915 Fitzgerald Patent is a continuation of the previously discussed '413 Fitzgerald Patent. This has a similar disclosure to the previously discussed patent and again deals with the concept of having the decorative skins attached to the spokes of the wheel to give the wheel a unique and attractive appearance.
There is a significant need to provide a multi-piece wheels which can be assembled with multiple pieces of pre-made structural members, to significantly improve wheel styling potential, and to reduce the cost to manufacture the stylish wheels.